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Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §11.29.1-11.29.4

The Oath of the Greek Allies and March to Plataea

Passage 30 of 723 · Greek

Summary

After Mardonius withdraws to Thebes, the Greek allies assemble at the Isthmus, swear a solemn oath of unity and resolution for the war, and march through Cithaeron to encamp near Erythrae.

§11.29.1ἐπανελθόντος δὲ εἰς τὰς Θήβας τοῦ Μαρδονίου μετὰ τῆς δυνάμεως, ἔδοξε τοῖς συνέδροις τῶν Ἑλλήνων παραλαβεῖν τοὺς Ἀθηναίους, καὶ πανδημεὶ προσελθόντας εἰς τὰς Πλαταιὰς διαγωνίσασθαι περὶ τῆς ἐλευθερίας, εὔξασθαι δὲ καὶ τοῖς θεοῖς, ἐὰν νικήσωσιν, ἄγειν κατὰ ταύτην τὴν ἡμέραν τοὺς Ἕλληνας ἐλευθέρια κοινῇ, καὶ τὸν ἐλευθέριον ἀγῶνα συντελεῖν ἐν ταῖς Πλαταιαῖς.
When Mardonius had returned to Thebes with his army, the representatives of the Greeks decided to join forces with the Athenians, and advancing in full force to Plataea, to fight to the finish for their freedom, and also to vow to the gods that, if they should be victorious, the Greeks would jointly celebrate the festival of freedom on that day, and hold the games of freedom in Plataea.
§11.29.2συναχθέντων δὲ τῶν Ἑλλήνων εἰς τὸν Ἰσθμόν, ἐδόκει τοῖς πᾶσιν ὅρκον ὀμόσαι περὶ τοῦ πολέμου, τὸν στέξοντα μὲν τὴν ὁμόνοιαν αὐτῶν, ἀναγκάσοντα δὲ γενναίως τοὺς κινδύνους ὑπομένειν. §11.29.3ὁ δὲ ὅρκος ἦν τοιοῦτος·
And when the Greeks had assembled at the Isthmus, they all decided to swear an oath concerning the war, which would preserve their harmony and compel them to endure dangers bravely.
οὐ ποιήσομαι περὶ πλείονος τὸ ζῆν τῆς ἐλευθερίας, οὐδὲ καταλείψω τοὺς ἡγεμόνας οὔτε ζῶντας οὔτε ἀποθανόντας, ἀλλὰ τοὺς ἐν τῇ μάχῃ τελευτήσαντας τῶν συμμάχων πάντας θάψω, καὶ κρατήσας τῷ πολέμῳ τῶν βαρβάρων οὐδεμίαν τῶν ἀγωνισαμένων πόλεων ἀνάστατον ποιήσω, καὶ τῶν ἱερῶν τῶν ἐμπρησθέντων καὶ καταβληθέντων οὐδὲν ἀνοικοδομήσω, ἀλλʼ ὑπόμνημα τοῖς ἐπιγινομένοις ἐάσω καὶ καταλείψω τῆς τῶν βαρβάρων ἀσεβείας. §11.29.4τὸν δὲ ὅρκον ὀμόσαντες ἐπορεύθησαν ἐπὶ τὴν Βοιωτίαν διὰ τοῦ Κιθαιρῶνος, καὶ πρὸς τὰς ὑπωρείας καταντήσαντες πλησίον τῶν Ἐρυθρῶν, αὐτοῦ κατεστρατοπέδευσαν.
The oath was as follows: "I will not value life more than freedom, nor will I desert my leaders, whether living or dead, but I will bury all of the allies who have fallen in battle, and when I have conquered the barbarians in the war, I will not destroy any of the cities that fought, and I will not rebuild any of the temples that have been burned and thrown down, but I will leave them as they are and hand them down as a memorial to posterity of the impiety of the barbarians." After swearing this oath, they marched toward Boeotia through Cithaeron, and coming down to the foothills near Erythrae, they encamped there.
ἡγεῖτο δὲ τῶν μὲν Ἀθηναίων Ἀριστείδης, τῶν δὲ συμπάντων Παυσανίας, ἐπίτροπος ὢν τοῦ Λεωνίδου παιδός.
Aristides led the Athenians, while Pausanias, who was the guardian of the son of Leonidas, commanded the entire force.

Notes

  1. §11.29.1προσελθόντας — The participle is in the accusative plural because it serves as the subject of the infinitive `διαγωνίσασθαι`, following the general Greek rule that the subject of an infinitive is put in the accusative, even when the main governing verb (`ἔδοξε`) takes a dative object.
  2. §11.29.2τὸν στέξοντα — The future participle with the definite article (`τὸν στέξοντα... ἀναγκάσοντα`) modifies the antecedent `ὅρκον` in the accusative, functioning like a relative clause to express the purpose, intention, or character of the oath ("an oath which is destined to preserve...").
  3. §11.29.3περὶ πλείονος — Part of the idiomatic phrase `περὶ πλείονος ποιοῦμαι` ("to value more, hold in higher esteem"), where `πλείονος` is a genitive of value. Here `τὸ ζῆν` ("living") serves as the direct object, and `τῆς ἐλευθερίας` ("freedom") is the genitive of comparison.

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §11.29.1-11.29.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc4:11.29.1-11.29.4

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